New York, May 3, 2007—The Maldivian information minister announced today that a criminal charge of “disobedience of an order” against Minivan Daily Deputy Editor Nazim Sattar would be dropped and that charges against Editor Aminath Najeeb would be reduced, Sattar told CPJ. The two were facing criminal charges related to an August 2005 article quoting…
ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…
ALGERIA: 2 Djamel Eddine Fahassi, Alger Chaîne III IMPRISONED: May 6, 1995 Fahassi, a reporter for the state-run radio station Alger Chaîne III and a contributor to several Algerian newspapers, including the now-banned weekly of the Islamic Salvation Front, Al-Forqane, was abducted near his home in the al-Harrache suburb of the capital, Algiers, by four…
New York, April 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by the Maldivian government’s prosecution of journalists working for Minivan News, a media group affiliated with the opposition Maldivian Democracy Party. Minivan Daily reporter Abdullah Saeed, known as Fahala, was sentenced on Wednesday to life imprisonment on a drug charge, which colleagues believe was…
New York, March 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about Maldivian authorities’ criminal prosecution of Abdullah Saeed, a reporter with the opposition Minivan Daily newspaper. The journalist, also known as Fahala, was sentenced on Sunday to two months in jail for refusing a urine test when he was arrested last October. Saeed still…
New York, February 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from house arrest of Internet journalist Ahmed Didi, who was pardoned today, four years after receiving a life sentence because of his work. Dissident Naushad Waheed was also pardoned. “The release of our colleague Ahmed Didi is welcome but long overdue,” CPJ Executive…
AFGHANISTAN: 1 Ali Mohaqqiq Nasab, Haqooq-i-Zan (Women’s Rights) Imprisoned: October 1, 2005 The attorney general ordered editor Nasab’s arrest on blasphemy charges after the religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai, Mohaiuddin Baluch, filed a complaint about his magazine. “I took the two magazines and spoke to the Supreme Court chief, who wrote to the attorney…
Overviewby Abi Wright Threats to press freedom spiked throughout Asia in 2004, even as the news media claimed significant accomplishments. Across the region, 2004 was an election year, with citizens casting ballots in nations such as Afghanistan, whose landmark vote was peaceful and orderly, and India, where more than 370 million went to the polls.…